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Creepypasta Wiki:Writing Advice/Making Titles
Alot of times, I see people complain about the abuse filter because of a title blacklist. Either that, or someone posts a pasta that for some odd reason, has a period in it, is not capitalized correctly, or whatnot. So I'm taking the time to write on my phone something about titles! Forgive any spelling errors. How do you format a title? This includes capitalization, spelling, etc. For one, don't put a period in a title. It isn't a statement, it isn't a sentence. Two, the first word in a title is always capitalized. Three, nouns and verbs get capitalized. However, prepositions (in, on, and the like) do not get capitalized unless they are the first word in the title. Most principle words get capitalized, other words are lowercase. Now that we've gone through a general rundown of first grade English, let's move on to the bigger problem - titles themselves. What should my title be? The ideas and possibilities are limitless - within reason. When it comes to the horror genre, the title can be simple, or it can be a major part of your hook. The title is often the first thing a reader sees. It will represent your story, so you need to choose a good one. Don't do something like "The Nightmare Attacks!" This will put people off fast - because it sounds like a B-List 70's movie. I always find that the better titles don't give too much away from the story. A title that doesn't tell me what I'm about to read or drops a hint within reason is all good. The above title that I used for ab example makes me think of an alien invasion. But what would be a good title? Something that reflects your story but doesn't give it away. Or, if you're feeling naughty and can pull it off, sometimes basic simplicity is best. (For example, Humper Monkey's Ghost Story. The title is simple, and doesn't tell you anything but the fact that it is a Ghost story by Humper Monkey.) You need to make sure you choose the best possible title for your story. Titles are the first thing the reader sees; they're what originally grab attention. If your title is terrible or cheesy, you probably won't get attention regardless of the quality of your work. An extra thing I forgot above Whereas you can't put a period, sometimes it is okay to have a question mark or exclamation point. It depends largely upon the title itself. Additional note from Sloshedtrain Also some extra tips is to avoid common cliché words and phrases like "haunted", "blood", "darkness", "lost episode", "death", "x the x", any full name (usually indicates a Jeff-clone), "666", "suicide", etc. If your proposed title has already been taken by another page, please come up with a new one. Don't try to uncapitalize or add ellipses to avoid it. I have lost count how many "The Darkness" has been used for pages.